Ben Caukins spent the past 7 months constructing the Normandy SR2 from Mass Effect, proving yet again that he’s not afraid to build large curved ships. The ship measures almost 4 feet long with a wingspan of 19 inches. It will be displayed at Brickworld this weekend in Chicago. You can check out work-in-progress pictures on Flickr.
I don’t always go in for renderings of LEGO models, as I often find them lacking compared to real photographs of brick-built creations, but these renders by the fantastically-named Awesome O’saurus are terrific. Over the past few months, he’s been slowly churning out some lovely microscale spaceships in the hard sci-fi vein. Here are his latest two, the Sumerset, a patrol ship, and the larger Kettler, a colony ship.
I know you are all going to say, “Stick a Megablok in your pie hole Tromas!” But I simply must beat this dead horse: Our community is rather fantastic!!
Case in point Simon Liu’s (Si-MOCs) Operation Oscar: Phase 1. Simon built this large scene to honour a few of his favourite builders, those that inspired and influenced him. Simon left it up to us, the viewers, to recognize who those builders are, but it is rather obvious just who the guilty parties are…all of which are TBB regulars; Fedde (Karf), Peter Reid, and of course our own resident DJ, The Goldman (or as I like to affectionately refer to him, Gold Member).
Now it must be pointed out that Gold Member’s influence on Simon’s build is quite prominent, as the general layout of the launch base is straight out of his ‘Gypsy Queens, you are clear to launch’…a hit single that Keith debuted 2 weeks ago. Now if I have learned anything from my time spent kickin’ it with Gold-Member in the TBB club house, it is that despite his epic awesomeness, he is not one to toot his own horn. So I am more than happy to cut into his weekend air time and toot his horn in his stead. So here it, the world debut of ‘Gypsy Queens, you are clear to launch’:
![Gypsy Queens, you are clear to launch! [2/7]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.brothers-brick.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/8833005988_5a18f70d79.jpg)
Now, back to the brilliance of the community…not only is Simon’s creation inspired by his favourite builders, but Keith’s build was a direct result of a few more of our regulars, Stijn (Red Spacecat) & Mike Yoder. I’ll just let Keith explain the story in his own words:
Almost two years ago I was fortunate enough to receive the generous gift of a MATSF-5000E Superbanshee II SE from Stijn. To make things all the more strange, the package was sent through middleman Yoder. Although I was stoked to receive such a swooshable fighter, I was a little burned out of building dioramas for starfighters. Over the course of the last couple of years I’ve attempted 3 relatively large scale dioramas, including a cruder version of what you see here. The models failed for various reasons, but mostly because I was struggling with the scale. While I have tried microscale before, it was never on such a large scale and I found it very difficult to grind out the small details that make everything come to life without the trusty minifig to guide me.
The model also includes Stijn’s recent M28-Pig in the pen, as it were, in the lower left hand corner.
So cheers Stijn! I hope it was worth the wait.
So what is the moral of this story you ask?
Don’t think for a second that just because oceans and continents separate us, that we can’t still get together to play LEGO!
Also, please be sure to check out the full set of pictures for both of these brilliant creations, there are simply too many details to pass up:
If you’re headed to Dallas for the Brick Siesta LEGO convention next month, keep your beady-eyes peeled for this sci-fi marvel called the UNES Odyssey 21 by Kyle Collard (lazerblade). In a universe of boilerplate, this ship is a breed apart with its unconventional design and delicate looking textures. To me it looks like some kind of deconstructed German flag. Your results may vary.
The design for the Odyssey was inspired by another builder that should be familiar to constant readers of the weekend-shift, LEGOLIZE IT MAN. Forget fancy new product launches or collectible minifigs…for me, there is nothing better in this hobby than when two or more builders combine their talents on a build or an idea. Enjoy your Friday night slice of collaboration.
Jarek‘s sci-fi vehicles have some of the smoothest contours I’ve seen, and his latest starfighter is no exception. Take note of how well those wedge plates complement the flow of the cement mixer half cylinders.
This seems to be the week of angular spaceships, as legodrome adds his own pointy starfighter to the mix. The engine cluster and underside bristling with missiles are excellent, beautifully presented in this collage view.
Zemata gives us a look at the decidedly otherworldly: a creature from a planet where insects have the mastery. It’s a fantastically created diorama, with vivid colors and an interesting shape. Plus, it lights up.
Apparently today is the day for LEGO designers to be rockin’ the primary colours, well this time it is Mark Stafford’s (lego_nabii) turn to take the spot light. Over the last several days Mark has been posting a number of his older models to his flickr stream. They have all been fantastic to have a gander at, but his SSL freighter from 2006 has to take the cake as the coolest so far.
…oh yeah, this was based on Peter Elson’s artwork from the Terran Trade Authority Handbook, but you probably already knew that.
Its itty-bitty size and sheer level of cute should not detract from the seriousness of space. Right? Or something like that.
This micro-battle by Filip Soukup (FilipS™) is all sorts of eye-catching. It’s instantly recognizable.
Of course I’m talking about Victoria, the latest microscale-space build from LEGOLIZE IT MAN. This outstanding model almost made the cut for my micro-space roundup on Friday, but it didn’t fit the theme I had going. Since Sunday seems a little quiet, I don’t see any reason not to add one more, especially when it has such nice detail on each surface. I just hope the builder continues the naming convention and we see the MelB, MelC, Geri and Emma.
Trying to get a table at the TBB brasserie on a Friday night/Saturday morning with no reservations is unheard of, but you constant reader have enough juice to get past the stuffy maître d’. Please take a look at the wine list, your server will be with you shortly. Tonight’s menu is prix fixe.
The first course is an appetizer by chef Red Spacecat, the Viper Gauntlet RVR04…
…followed by Chef Tim Goddard’s (Rogue Bantha) TBX shuttle…
…followed by Chef Tim Zarki’s (Spook) main course the Metis Class Rapid Transport…
…and the meal is capped off by renowned pâtissier Karf Oohlu’s and his Turtle class highspeed cruiser.
We hope you enjoyed your meal, please come again.
With nearly 70 entries in the R-Type & Beyond Build Challenge I think it is a safe bet that the month was a huge success. There was a brilliant diversity of designs and scales, yet all entries were totally reminiscent of the R-Type style. However, it appears that a few builders were saving some lovely surprises for the last day…
Curtis Collins builds, in my opinion, the most ‘classic’ looking model of the month, and his spray painted canopy and use of a toy ball commandeered from his son for the Force Pod are just the sort of creative twists we love to see in the Starfighters group.
Stefan Schindler is no stranger to starfighters with beautiful angles, but his R-Type Ampulex definitely wins this month for coolest colour scheme.
Simone also builds a classic looking R-Type with wonderful lines, but this time in midi-scale.
So thanks to all who participated, it was very great to see such great quality builds throughout the entire month. Keep an eye out at the flickr group for future monthly build challenges.